MILWAUKEE — Former President Trump entered the venue to rapturous applause in his first public appearance since being wounded in an assassination attempt on Saturday.
The crowd roared as they watched Trump on a video screen wearing a bandage on the ear struck by an assassin’s bullet during Saturday’s rally.
He waved to the crowd and pumped his fist on his way to his box seat, and shook hands with Tucker Carlson, Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.), vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and family members before taking his seat.
With Trump on video boards inside the arena, Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the USA,” the song that always opens each of Trump’s rallies.
As the song ended, the crowd chanted “Fight!”, a reference to the words Trump stood up and told his supporters in Pennsylvania after Saturday’s shooting.
Two hours before Trump’s arrival, rumors circulated that he would enter the venue through a corner hallway, and several dozen supporters gathered around a rope line hoping to get a closer look at the former president.
President Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech on Thursday evening.
Trump has not been seen in public since an assassin’s bullet grazed his ear at a rally on Saturday, killing the gunman and one other rally attendee.
Since then, the former president has met with more than a dozen people, including lawmakers and members of the media, including Fox News host Bret Baier and CNBC host Joe Kernen.
